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The process of imposing economic sanctions to nip the threat of a nuclear Iran moved forward with several recent developments, including the markup of a bill with sanctions for companies who provide petroleum to Iran, and Iran's reported rejection of a deal to jettison its uranium.

On Oct. 28, the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs passed H.R. 2194, The Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act of 2009, which stipulates that any foreign entity that sells refined petroleum to Iran, or otherwise enhances Iran's ability to import refined petroleum, will be barred from doing business in the U.S.

Introduced six months ago by U.S. Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif.), the committee's chair, the legislation now has 330 cosponsors and is eligible for a vote on the House floor with the markup. Iran ignored a U.N. deadline on Oct. 23 for responding to an international deal that would have required the country to send 75 percent of its known stockpile of low-enriched uranium to Russia and France, where it would have been processed and returned for use in a reactor in Tehran used to make medical isotopes.

The New York Times reported that Iran told the International Atomic Energy Agency, a United Nations nuclear watchdog, that it would not accept the deal, which was drafted Oct. 21 in Vienna. U.S. Rep. Leonard Lance (R-N.J.), who represents parts of Hunterdon, Middlesex, Somerset, and Union counties and is one of H.R. 2194's cosponsors, told The Jewish State that Iran's recent behavior creates a greater sense of urgency for the bill's passage.

"It demonstrates that there is the increased potential that Iran will perfect a nuclear weapon," Lance said in a telephone interview, regarding Iran's rejection of the deal.

In his opening remarks at the markup of H.R. 2194, Berman said that Iran's nuclear capacity would pose the "most serious strategic threat to our nation" for four reasons: a nuclear-armed Iran would be able to bully its neighbors and dominate its region, making it less susceptible to pressure from the international community; Iran's terrorist protégés, like Hezbollah and Hamas, would be bolstered; Iran would likely spark a nuclear arms race in the Middle East that would lead to the collapse of the global nuclear nonproliferation regime; and Iran could also share its nuclear know-how with terrorists and use its weapons against Israel or other U.S. allies in the region.

"It is not a magic bullet, but it will -- at least -- force the Iranians to think twice about continuing to flout the will of the international community," Berman said of the bill.

Unlike previous Iran sanctions legislation, H.R. 2194 requires the administration to report all activities that would trigger sanctions to Congress, Berman explained. Speaking before reports of Iran's rejection of the uranium deal, Berman said the realization of the deal would have pushed back Iran 's nuclear clock "perhaps nine months to a year," assuming that Iran has no hidden stockpile of low-enriched uranium.

Berman said he is "not giving up on the possibility that diplomacy will succeed in bringing about a suspension of Iran's uranium enrichment program," but that "the Iranian government should know that the U.S. Congress remains intently focused on this issue, and that there will be severe consequences down the road should it refuse to suspend its nuclear program."

"That is why, after six months of waiting, it is time to begin moving this bill through the legislative process," Berman said.

U.S. Rep. John Adler (D-N.J.), who represents parts of Ocean County and is a cosponsor for the bill, wrote in an Oct. 5 letter to Berman that with the recent discovery of a second uranium enrichment facility at Qom, the threat of a nuclear Iran is "higher than ever before."

"Another secret facility reveals Iran's increased nuclear capacity and their intent to deceive the international community," Adler wrote.

"The United States, Israel, and the rest of the world cannot afford to have a nuclear-armed Iran," he added. "This is a critically important national security issue. Keeping our communities and families safe has to be our top priority."

Lance, who spoke to The Jewish State after hearing German Chancellor Angela Merkel address Congress, said that Merkel and other world leaders are deeply concerned about Iran's progress toward building nuclear weapons. Lance said there is also a good deal of concern and awareness within his district in central New Jersey, citing reactions he received to speeches on the Iranian issue and other topics in foreign affairs in August at The JCC of Central New Jersey in Scotch Plains, and this past Monday at Montgomery High School in Somerset County.

"I think the people of good will throughout the U.S. should recognize that this is the type of legislation that needs to be pursued immediately," Lance said of H.R. 2194.